Driving to....Nizwhat? Part II

When we arrived at the fort, we actually entered through the village area just outside the fort where it is not all been restored. I found this particularly interesting because you can see construction details not visible under the stucco-like exterior and it gives a view into the rooms. Parts of these buildings have been lived in for centuries, and some of them are still occupied today.

I love the decorative detail you can see in this image: the arched doorway, what appears to be a niche next to it, and the scroll-work trim that looks like a balcony.

Note the air conditioning units, the car, and the satellite dish(!), evidence of present occupation.

I loved this winding little street up the back of the fort.

Just outside the main entrance gate to the fort is this Omani Craftsman's House where they continue to make pots, blankets, and tapestries in the traditional ways still today.

When we arrived at the fort, we walked around the inner courtyard.

Here's Don! It looks like they were filming something the day we were there,
but we don't know what! The wall on the left is restored; the surface of the wall behind Don is not.

 We climbed up the stairs to the top of the main defensive tower. The following images are views from the top of that tower.

The courtyard below.

This is Don standing at the top of the stairs at the top of the tower. The size of the people on the "floor" of the tower top  give you a greater perspective as to the size of this fortress tower. Niches all around the perimeter of the tower performed various defensive functions, from viewing the surrounding countryside to pouring hot oil and date syrup on their enemies.

The view through a cannon turret. These were placed at strategic intervals around the entire tower.

This is the mosque (as seen from the top of the tower) that is next
to the fort, recreating the original fort architectural details.

View of the town surrounding the fort.

View overlooking the courtyard and some of the older outlying fort buildings.

I will have one more blog on Nizwa: The Doors of Nizwa. Hope to have it posted soon!